物以类聚

物以類聚
wùyǐ-lèijù
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 like attracts like
  2. 2 birds of a feather flock together
  3. 3 things of one kind come together

Examples

HSK 5
Wùyǐ-lèijù, rén yǐ qún fēn, tā jiāo de péngyou dōu shì yílù rén.
Like attracts like - the friends he keeps are all the same kind of people.
HSK 7-9
Zhèng suǒwèi wùyǐ-lèijù, zhè qún yìshùjiā hěn zìrán de zǒu dào le yìqǐ.
As the saying goes, 'birds of a feather' - this group of artists naturally came together.

Tips

history
From the 易经·系辞上 (Yi Jing, Great Treatise): 方以类聚,物以群分 ('directions assemble by category, things divide by group'). The full modern saying is 物以类聚,人以群分 (wu yi lei ju, ren yi qun fen), 'things gather by kind, people split into groups.'
usage
Often slightly negative, implying that bad people stick with bad people. Pair it with 人以群分 for the full impact, or use alone in either neutral or critical tones.

Stroke Order

物 wù
以 yǐ
类 lèi
聚 jù